You’re ready to adopt a cat, except for one hitch: there’s a pandemic and you can’t safely meet adoptable cats in person. What to do? At Cat Town, it’s simple: you video chat the cat!
Cat Town is uniquely focused on helping cats from the shelter system who are seen as ‘unadoptable’ by other rescue organizations. Even during a pandemic, we must meet that need for our community. That's why we introduced a virtual adoption process.
Here’s what we’ve started doing differently, and what we’ve learned along the way.
The first change: Socially distant foster cats
We moved all cats from our Adoption Center into foster care, so that our staff could safely shelter in place, and to provide every cat with high quality care and socialization while regular daily life just wasn’t possible.
What did we learn?
Many more people than we anticipated had the space and time to foster a cat. When we put the call out that we needed more fosters and fast, more than 300 people responded in 24 hours. Even better, these fosters felt great about helping a cat in need, and many of them decided they wanted to adopt their foster cat. In our first 45 days of sheltering in place, we had 40 cats get adopted or go to homes for a trial run to see if they’d be a good fit. More on that later.
The Second changE: MEETING CATS REMOTELY
Rather than meet in person, we coordinated a four-way video call between the potential adopter, the foster, the cat, and our staff.
What did we learn?
This process is wonderful for the cats — especially shy cats! Maybe you know who we mean: the cats who scurry out of the room when company arrives, and wait until the party is over — those cats. They find it stressful to meet new people, and that includes potential adopters. Shy cats will sometimes spend an entire introduction hiding from their potential adopter underneath a chair or bed. But in a virtual meet-up, they’re completely relaxed and can be themselves. This approach allows potential adopters to see what’s waiting for them if they give that cat time and patience, and it works so well we will likely keep it in place for our shyest cats!
Now the adopter has seen the happiness they can expect, the fit feels right, and everyone agrees it’s time to see if there’s real chemistry. Time to get that cat into their new home!
The THIRD changE: Cooperation and flexibility
Instead of asking for an upfront commitment, we give the adopter time to get to know their newest companion before making the adoption official, and we conduct a no-contact hand-off between the foster and the adopter, loaning supplies to make that transition as smooth as possible.
What did we learn?
We’ve learned that so much can be accomplished by working together and staying flexible. We loan a sturdy carrier to the foster, which the adopter then borrows, to ensure the cat is safe and secure for the ride home. We then support them throughout the first awkward days of having a new cat in their home. Since Cat Town often helps shy cats, we let this go at a pace that works for each cat. Once the potential adopter agrees the cat is perfect (all cats are perfect), we formalize the adoption and coordinate a return of any supplies we loaned, such as carriers and towels.
The process strengthened relationships between fosters and adopters — each are compassionate people who appreciate the other’s special role in the cat’s life. More than a few decided on their own to keep in touch with one another, and adopters provided fosters with updates so that everyone felt great about the outcome.
We’ve also learned (once again) that our volunteers are superheroes! They stepped up to ensure every single adopter had all the knowledge they needed to understand their new cat — why it’s okay that they’re hiding, how long it’s okay for them to not eat at first, tips to help them feel safe and win their trust — the works.
They also leaped to help coordinate the return of our supplies, and even to help us sanitize them for the next cat in need.
The takeaways
Sometimes, when things look challenging, you’ll find that a new approach is better than the way you’d been doing things — so don’t shy away from taking a chance on trying something different.
Adopters are still willing to take a chance on cats who otherwise might never have made it out of the shelter — to save them, and to offer them love in the belief that, with a little time, love will blossom into a lifelong friendship.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly: if you want to help, do. If you need help, ask. We had a need, and our community rose to our call. At a time when so many people are isolated and alone, this made us feel united, grounded, and grateful.